Fired deputy wins $275K settlement from county

MURFREESBORO – Former sheriff’s candidate and detective Jim Tramel accepted a $275,000 lawsuit settlement from the county after contending that his dismissal was for political reasons, an official confirmed today.

In addition to tax dollars used for the settlement, the local government so far has paid nearly $60,000 in legal fees to defend Tramel’s former boss, Sheriff Robert Arnold, Rutherford County Finance Director Lisa Nolen said.

The sheriff’s office in 2013 reported that it fired Tramel based on accusations that he spread rumors about coworkers engaging in sex. Tramel said in a interview last year that he only told a boss complaining about his performance in private about the rumor he’d heard involving the boss and another sheriff’s employee.

Tramel responded by filing his lawsuit and qualifying to run as an independent for sheriff. He only had 2.3 percent of the vote to finish fourth out of four candidates.

Arnold captured 51.9 percent to win a second four-year term. Independent Dale Armour was second with 28.3 percent of the vote, and Democratic Party nominee Bill Kennedy was third with 17.5 percent.

U.S. District Court Judge Todd J. Campbell in Nashville accepted the settlement without agreeing to keep the lawsuit documents private.

“The parties have failed to cite any authority for sealing the entire file,” Campbell states in his written ruling.

The judge also ordered the case be dismissed after both sides agreed to the settlement.

“It therefore appears to the court, as evidenced by signature below of counsel for the parties, that this action has been resolved, with no finding or admission of liability, and that the action between the parties should be dismissed with prejudice,” the court order states.

The ruling notes that county defense attorney Josh McCreary, who works in the same firm with County Attorney Jim Cope, agreed to the settlement with Terry A. Fann, a Murfreesboro lawyer who represented Tramel.

Contact Scott Broden at 615-278-5158 or sbroden@dnj.com. Follow him on Twitter @ScottBroden.